(CNN) - Talking to a Twin Cities radio station Monday, likely Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' resignation is a product of mismangement, not wrongdoing.

"I wish him all the best. Clearly things weren't going the way they should've been going over there from a handling standpoint for some time," Thompson told KSTP's Bob Davis. "But Gonzales' enemies were making him look pretty good. They were piling on him, and they were making more out of it than there was."

Davis asked Thompson if Gonzales could be accused of any wrongdoing.

"No, no," Thompson responded. "I think it was mishandled. But he doesn't have a monopoly on that in Washington.”

soundoff(21 Responses)

See - the repugs just keep covering for this Admin. Gonzo crossed the line many, many times. Torture, spying, going to pressure the AG in the hospital. Yes, he did illegal things. Perfect example of why Fred shouldn't get any votes. We need an honest president.

Just like some of Mr. Thompson's Nixonian "Watergate Era Investigations" were mishandled? Partisan Presidential Politics at its finest.

What was it Nixon said?...Oh, yeah...."that lil' Thompson boy..."

America, will we ever be DONE w/ dirty Watergate era politicians?

Just say no to the likes of Juliani, Thompson, et al and any other Repuke in either Congress or the Administration for another 60 yrs....Finish the DC swamp draining in 08', 10', 12' and beyond! Your country depends on it....Restore the US Constitution to a true document of freedom instead of "just a god damn pc. of paper" as GWB has called it recently.

Hey Fred, aren't you the guy that softballed Richard Nixon on national t.v. because as you said in your memoir, you didn't think he didn't do anything wrong?

Aren't you the dude that headed the committee to fund Scooter Libby's legal expenses and lobby to ensure he did no jail time because he's an "honest American"?

Aren't you the professional lobbyist that was in the employ of Planned Parenthood, lobbying lawmakers to make sure abortion stays legal, even though you know say you think it is wrong and that you would summarily outlaw it?

Here's a clip I just found on youtube where Thompson tries to take on the issue of Michael Moore's movie Sicko and healthcare.

Instead of addressing the issue of healthcare at all, he smokes a big fat cuban cigar, turns around in a stiff actorly pose in his fine red leather chair, and after blowing smoke says basically that Fidel Castro likes to torture documentary makers and Moore should think about that before he goes there again.

He never mentions a word about healthcare. He simply uses fear to shut the question down.

It's actually pretty funny because it's the worst acting I've seen in ages. How the hell did this guy get onto that t.v. show?

Gonzales certainly doesn't have a monopoly on mismanagement.The entire crew and captain "good ship 'Georgie Boy'" are all mismanagment experts!Stick to acting Fred!Reagan was one actor too many in the whitehouse.

Fred Thompson supported this administration through lobbying and actually paid for a lot of Scooter Libby's defense in the trial where he was convicted of lying under oath. And he continues to say "Libby never committed a crime"... well he lied under oath, I believe that is called perjury.

To sum it up, Fred Thompson is a fossil dressed up as a neoconservative.

Thompson is right, Gonzales did nothing illegal. He assumed that the American people would see that but just as with Libby, and Delay all it takes it character assassination courtesy of the American Media and you would think he was fighting dogs.

Another calculating, lying Republican that wouldn't know truth if it bit him in his Love Boat. Thanks for that lucid defense of a criminal attorney general. Yeah, all those Republicans were really piling on ol' Torture Meister Gonzo, poor guy.

agree with thompson 200%. Really he should've stressed firmer, though – how exaggerated this whole "attorney firing" issue has been. In fact, as I'm sure all you "educated" readers know out ther – that entire departments of attorneys hav been fired numerous times from either sides of the party lines before. Clinton fired basically all of 'em. And it makes no logical sense to disclaim this statement, just cuz Clinton fired them all "at the beginning." plz, tell me how that justifies taking away the jobs of so many devoted, hard-working attorneys! And ne wayz, Bush's firings should be justifiable even if they were under political casues. I mean hello dummies? This is politics – and everything has to be political – or else nothing would be working or even exist in the first place: so face it – political firing is the purpose for why the president and the AG has the power to control the jobs of those guyz

"Entire departments of attorneys have been fired numerous times from either sides of the party lines before. Clinton fired basically all of em."

Yep. which stands in contrast to Dubya/Gonzales who UNPRECEDENTEDLY:
1) fired selectively; 2) in mid-term; 3) for “job performance” reasons (even though they had favorable job reviews); 4) with the advantage that Dubya could appoint new attorneys without Senate confirmation!

"Thompson is right, Gonzales did nothing illegal."

So LYING under oath ISN'T illegal now? It sure was when Clinton did it though wasn't it?

Thus far, Gonzales has (at the very least) lied about: 1) him “not [being] involved in any discussions about what was going on” at a March 13, 2007 press conference – refuted by testimony and emails; 2) his February 6, 2006 statement about there “not been any serious disagreement about the [no-warrant surveillance program]." – contradicted by his own 07/24/07 testimony that the purpose of a March 10, 2004 meeting (between White House officials and congressional leaders - referred to as the "Gang of Eight") was to inform lawmakers that Comey would not approve "a very important intelligence activity."; 3) his assertion during April 19, 2007 testimony, regarding his role in the firings of the attorneys, that "I haven't talked to witnesses because of the fact that I haven't wanted to interfere with this investigation." – contradicted by Monica Goodling, who testified that, she had an "uncomfortable" conversation while she worked for him "where he outlined his recollection of what happened" and asked her for her reaction; and 4) him saying (during his testimony on 07/24/07) he had visited the ailing Ashcroft in the hospital to discuss "other intelligence activities," not the surveillance program – which was contradicted by the testimony of both Comey and Mueller.

And you can now add ANOTHER lie to that list as he walked out the door. After saying on 7/23/07 “[I will] devote my time, effort and energy to fix the problems. Since I have never been one to quit, I decided that the best course of action was to remain here and fix the problems”, he cut and ran. All that’s left now is for him to write a book like Tom Delay’s ”No Retreat, No Surrender” after having surrendered!

Let's see ... unprecedented selective dismissals for “performance related” reasons after favorable job reviews; Gonzales caught lying; Dubya asking for oath-less and transcript-less testimony behind closed doors; Dubya using executive privilege to protect White House aids and DOJ officials from having to testify; others promising to plead the 5th and then abruptly resigning; trying to hide e-mails about government business by using unofficial e-mail accounts; conveniently misplacing e-mails on the correct accounts; Goodling admitting she broke civil service "rules" (LAWS!) by inappropriately taking political considerations into account; Sampson saying Gonzales testimony was “innacurate”; Comey and Mueller’s testimony contradicting that of Gonzalez; Goodling saying Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty’s testimony was "not fully candid"; and Gonzales selectively fuzzy recollection during his own testimony ...